Saving Water

[Canary42]

The following notice appears in the public toilet at a nearby Country Park.

If it's brown flush it down
If it's yellow, let it mellow.

The Park is heavily in to recycling etc., all the rain water from the roof of the toilet building flows into the supply tank.

Apparently in Japan (IIRC) they build wash basins on top of the toilet cistern so all hand-washing water drains there for re-use. It is perhaps ridiculous that all our water supply is of best drinkable quality, but I guess a dual supply system would be prohibitively expensive.

[bobbinwales]

//If it's brown flush it down
If it's yellow, let it mellow.//

Yes Martin Lewis as used that one for a few years when talking about water meters. I guess he didn't invent it though. It doesn't look good though in your home when you have visitors- I do a quick flush before they vist

[gingejbee]

Unfortunately, using less water in the home (as described above) means that your input into the sewers (and hence sewage treatment plant) is much more concentrated, which the treatment works can't deal with properly (particularly in hot weather)...so the effluent from the works is of poorer quality when discharged into the rivers.
This, of course, affects everything in the rivers, including fish and plantlife.

[youngmafbog]

Surprised they havnt been advocating sharing a bath which I recall they did in the 70's.

There is no need to have separate water supplies, just fix the ruddy leaks.

[jno]

comes from California, I think in the 1960s but it may have been earlier

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/if_it%27s_yellow_let_it_mellow,_if_it%27s_brown_flush_it_down

It used to be shower with a friend, in my memory: not everyone has a bath built for two.

[Canary42]

That's an interesting point gingejbee (it would have made an ideal example for when I studied in my OU degree in Systems Behaviour many years ago - secondary unseen consequences can derail the best of plans).

[douglas9401]

'Shower with a friend' may be a different thing altogether.